Suburban Utopia

Everyone in business today will have encountered the media sales pitch - 'buy advertising in our magazine/newspaper/TV network/radio station, we've got the demographic you're looking for'.

That is as it should be - business owners need to identify their target market down to knowing whether their audience is predominantly male or female, approximate age, their 'off the clock' interests and how they source information - in other words, demographics.

It's not a new concept but you'll find very few media pitches so charmingly and comprehensively described than this 1957 Redbook Magazine featurette called In The Suburbs.



Part sociology, part documentary, part sales pitch, In The Suburbs identifies the Redbook readership - twentysomething married adults with young children living in their first home in the suburbs.

While some reviewers on Archive.com have been disparaging of the film and the era, they completely miss the point.

The film was created to encourage business owners to partner with Redbook in various sales promotions aimed at the highly acquisitive segment of the market - new homemakers - and that's still a valuable demographic 55 years later.

Another interesting thing of note (in addition to the wonderful period clothes, household items and cars) is that Redbook claimed that it was a magazine that was read by men and women equally with subject matter as diverse as international politics and child rearing tips.

We've wracked our brains here thinking of any magazine publication today that appeals equally to men and women and that covers a wide range of tops.

The closest we could think of is Readers Digest, but even then, it's a title more likely to be read by those featured in this documentary and their now aging Baby Boomer children, rather than the equivalent twenty/thirtysomethings of today.

Tell us what you think in comments below.